


Masked of Face, Damasked of Demeanor

by Symantra



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Drama, F/F, Kidnapping, Mystery, ere the heavens fade, fuee, heavy kaorumese, koneko chan, obvious disguise, princess carry, stage outfits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 17:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18480715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Symantra/pseuds/Symantra
Summary: Nobody has a clue who this phantom thief is and why they ran off with Kanon, but they don’t seem like a bad person, so Kanon rolls with it.





	Masked of Face, Damasked of Demeanor

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This story is based on and therefore contains some spoilers for the in-game event "Happy Phantom Thief & The Luxury Cruise."  
> The end notes contain a minor spoiler for episode 4 of "BanG Dream! 2nd Season."  
> Please enjoy.

The thief was obviously female from her physique. Strong yet slim and incredibly tall, she took long strides with the ease of an athlete. Despite wearing heavy boots, her steps were light and quick— _tmp, tmp, tmp, tmp._ Whatever the thief’s identity might have been, she was undeniably fleet of foot, and careful too; as she carried Kanon down the long hallways of the KT Smile, Kokoro Tsurumaki’s personal cruise ship, she supported her captive’s shoulders and the back of her knees with long arms, placed so perfectly that Kanon could have closed her eyes and imagined herself lying safely in a hammock.

Yellow bulbs in fancy sconces directed their light up across the wall into the corners of the ceiling. Shadows jumped at them from both sides, but they kept moving through the ship without faltering. Oddly relaxed for her situation (made to wear a princess dress, bridal carried by a handsome person, held hostage), Kanon tried to get another look at her kidnapper’s face. The lighting shifted constantly, making it difficult to discern any features, as if she were looking at a real phantom thief. All she could make out were a sharp jawline and low cheekbones. Did she even know anybody this picturesque...?

When they reached the end of the hall, they turned right and kept on going. And going, and going. Kanon tried to draw a mental map to figure out where they were in regards to the banquet hall, but there were so many hallways that her head started to spin.

Eventually they reached a flight of stairs covered in red carpet and golden finery. The phantom thief slowed and came to a stop right before the first step. Gentle and polite, she set Kanon down on her feet with such care that Kanon wondered if she wouldn’t mind being treated like a princess again from time to time.

“My princess,” the thief began. She sounded a little worn out. “You are but light as a feather that one could run from the horizon to the starry skies bearing you in arm. However, please allow me a short rest; my heart and lips outrun my stamina.”

“S-sure... Please don’t overexert yourself.”

The phantom thief faced the wall with faultless posture while she caught her breath. Her cloaked shoulders bobbed in a steady rhythm. Her hair seemed vaguely familiar.

Kanon waited with her hands in front of her. Although she could have taken the opportunity to attempt to sneak away as far as she could get then make a run for it, for some reason she didn’t feel threatened by this person at all. In fact, she kind of wanted to see where they were headed. Her sense of direction was poor, but she could tell at the very least that her strange associate had a destination in mind.

Speaking of strange, Kanon had noticed her abductor’s choice of clothing earlier but hadn’t gotten the chance to inspect it very well. The thief’s outfit was fittingly all black, golden trim and embroidery along every edge and in every conceivable corner. She wore a top hat and mask, neither of which had fallen off even after moving around so much. A mantle covered her shoulders, which she wore over a cape with a red satin inner lining that went all the way down to her knees. Kanon remembered seeing a dress shirt and a coat under the cape, too. All in all, her attire was extremely dated, like something from a bygone century or the wardrobe of the drama club.

After about thirty seconds, the thief turned around again. Under her mask, her eyes appeared to twinkle upon seeing that Kanon was still there. “It pleases me to see you waiting so kindly. I’ve had my rest—let us tarry no longer.”

As she moved to pick her up, Kanon started to panic at the thought of being picked up again. She leaned backward a bit and flailed her hands, stalling. “Wait! I, ehh... I don’t know what I should do with my hands when you carry me.”

“Do you not recall, my little kitten?” The thief gave her a warm smile and placed Kanon’s left hand in the center of her chest and her right hand on her upper arm. Doing so brought the two of them together until they stood only centimeters apart. Their height difference really shone then; each had to hold her head at an angle to make eye contact. “Your hands were like so. Quite naturally, I may add.”

“A-ah, I see...” Kanon suddenly remembered their current position, and she knew the thief was telling the truth. Her face blushed a deep red; it did feel natural. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Feel free to place your hands anywhere on my body should you need to steady yourself, or simply if it be comfortable for you. Now, shall we be off?”

Graceful as a character in a play, she stooped down and scooped Kanon up in her arms once more. She took off and began climbing the stairs with a spring in her step. There were several flights of stairs; she climbed them all, then they were back in more hallways.

Kanon held onto her kidnapper’s arm as she whisked her through the levels of the ship. Her left hand was warm. There was a rhythmic pattern to the thief’s walk that was decidedly calming. Since there was no point in speculating what could possibly happen aboard a Tsurumaki-sponsored cruise, she gave up on keeping track of their location. Watching the shadows flicker across her vision and listening to the fast steps of her possessor, she allowed her mind to relax. Again reminded of a hammock, she felt safe enough that her eyes slowly slid closed, and the beating of her heart grew loud in her ears.

Her eyes opened when they slowed down again. They approached a wooden door with a porthole. Only darkness could be seen through it. The thief turned around and operated the handle with her elbow. “Hup,” she grunted, then shoved it open and stepped onto the deck.

Kanon immediately noticed that they had set sail. She hadn’t even realized they had left port, but there was no longer any city to the left or right of the ship. Moonlight lit up the water on the horizon and in a wavy line leading up to the boat.

Approaching the front of the deck, the thief stopped before the rail and let Kanon down. It was then that Kanon realized they weren’t just on the main deck as she had first thought—they were on the topmost level, an open-air terrace crowning at least six or seven other stories. A weak breeze cupped her face, and water splashed against the hull thirty meters below.

“Wow, look at that,” she commented as she stuck her head over the railing. “Kokoro’s cruise ship sure has a lot of floors.”

While Kanon looked around, the thief put her back to the rails and faced the deckhouse. “Y... Yes, that is quite so,” she said, a bit of hesitance in her voice. Could she be afraid of heights?

The phantom thief was quiet for a bit. Kanon watched the water as the ship cruised forward at an unhurried pace. The deck swayed ever so slightly. She wondered how she hadn’t noticed earlier, when she had been sitting alone in one of the cabins or taking a break with her kidnapper by the stairs. Maybe she had been too distracted with all that was going on; it was a simple truth that she confused easily.

A few calm minutes passed before the phantom thief walked over to stand next to her.

“So did you enjoy our escape, my lovely princess?”

“Enjoy it?” Kanon folded her arms and leaned forward a bit over the ledge. “Mm... I guess so. I’m still kind of confused, but it wasn’t bad, and you don’t seem dangerous.”

The thief’s laugh had a warm quality to it, as if there were words in her voice even when she wasn’t speaking. “Of course not. My primary motivator is not to dispossess the lucky of their fortunes, though that may be my act.”

“I’m a fortune?” Kanon was still trying to process the thief’s unique use of language, so she had to repeat the bits she wasn’t sure about.

“Without doubt.”

“Oh—thanks for the compliment, then. But so what you’re trying to tell me is that, um... You kidnapped me for some reason other than greed?”

“Ah, my keen princess,” the thief exclaimed, putting her hands over her heart. “Your words ring true. To impart upon you that reason, please ponder some of the wise playwright’s wisdom: ‘Not without a search would those who would seek find the value of that which lies closest to them.’”

Kanon translated in her head. “So you’re saying... The reason you kidnapped me was to get Kokoro and the others to look for me, and by doing that you’re helping them realize how much they value me?”

The thief nodded. “You are correct, though I expect you would have been able to come to the same conclusion even without my ramblings. I doubted not their friendship from when I laid eyes upon them, but the dedication of their search is what confirms it.”

“I see... Well, thank you, I guess?”

“Anytime, for one such as you. You are a princess among your consorts. But more than anything, my actions arose out of my own selfish and mischievous nature to test the strength of their bonds to you.”

At that, Kanon couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you. That’s kind of sweet, actually. Hello Happy is full of good people, even if they may be weird sometimes.”

Far below, on the ground level of the boat, a door opened and some figures walked out. The phantom thief, having noticed Kanon looking down, followed her gaze and saw them also. She suddenly wrapped an arm around Kanon’s waist and drew her close.

“Hello Happy World!” she shouted. Her voice boomed across the night air, and the figures stopped moving around and looked up. “I await you on the highest level of the ship! Should you still want to reclaim your beloved princess, confront me here with the stars as your judge ere the heavens fade!” With that, her other hand grabbed the tail of her cape and whirled it about her head, obscuring the two of them from view as she stepped back from the ledge.

Kokoro and Hagumi’s voices reached all the way from the lower deck; Kanon couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying, but it sounded like business as usual. Misaki’s voice rose too, and though Kanon couldn’t see a thing, she had a feeling that Kokoro and Hagumi were dragging her back inside the ship. The thought that Misaki still followed the other two around in spite of all her complaints made Kanon giggle.

“I’m glad Misaki sticks with us even though we put her through so much trouble,” she said.

“Yes, I agree. Her acting skills are poor, but perhaps that item lies among her charms. She makes for an honest friend and one very reliable.”

“And thank you, too, Miss Thief.” Kanon looked up as the phantom thief’s head turned. They made eye contact through the eyeholes of the mask.

The thief’s eyes seemed to sparkle. “Oh? Whatever for?”

Kanon didn’t answer immediately. She wanted to make sure she had what she was about to say exactly right before she spoke.

“For being such a kind person, and treating me better than I really deserve. I wasn’t sure what was happening at first, but I had fun being a princess for one night. I couldn’t ask for a better thief to steal me away.”

In a bold gesture, she stood up on her tiptoes and left a kiss on the phantom thief’s cheek.

“When you carried me through the ship, you were strong but also really gentle. It was kind of relaxing, and it made my heart race. I don’t think it was just because you were running so fast either, but... I wouldn’t mind you taking me hostage again... Ah! Um.” Her face erupted, and she hid in her hands. “Fuee, I said something embarrassing...”

The thief stared at her before turning away and clearing her throat. When she faced Kanon again, it was with a ready smile. She was slightly red of face.

“How daring, to place your lips upon my cheek after having a prince’s love professed to you... Indeed, you are a princess stronger than any I have ever known. Truly, this is... fleeting...!”

At the end, the phantom thief bowed her head and placed her hands over her heart again. Kanon smiled.

She was still trying to figure out where she had heard that speech pattern before, so she was absolutely unprepared when the phantom thief leaned forward and stole a kiss from her lips before pulling away and running toward the deckhouse to climb on top and get ready for the others to arrive.

**Author's Note:**

> Rimi: "WHAT? YOU KISSED KAORU?"  
> Kanon: "Y-yeah..."  
> Rimi: "AND SHE KISSED YOU BACK?"  
> Kanon: "Y-yeah..."  
> Rimi: "You're so lucky... I should have kissed her when she kidnapped me too..."  
> (See BanG Dream! 2nd Season, Episode 4)
> 
> God, I have so much fun writing Kaoru's dialogue. Yes, Kaoru is the phantom thief—nobody's surprised, except Kanon.
> 
> I watched Season 2 a few days ago, and so now I'm finally getting around to reading Story Memories in the game. I also finished reading the rest of Hello Happy World's band story since I never did that.  
> I'm pleasantly surprised that S2 Ep4 links back to both the phantom thief event and the band story.
> 
> Thank you for reading! If you would like to get a notification when I post stories, subscribe! I've got one AkoRin and one extra-large KasuAri on the back burner.


End file.
